A lot of people in our lives contributed to our success and our achievements.

Sure, a lot of us think that we are our own wo/men; that we got to where we are on our own. But that’s not really true. Someone gave us a push here. Someone encouraged us there. Someone made a a little sacrifice here.

We may have a lot more people than we think who have a stake in how we turned out.
And we definitely have a lot of more people than we may give credit for who helped us along our journey.

Last week, I got to hang out with my youth pastor from my early teen years.
It was great catching up with him and all that has taken place since I last lived in Santa Barbara.

He played a great role, whether he knows it or not, on how I turned out. Thankfully, I turned out somewhat okay, so he doesn’t have to be too embarrassed when I say that he had a hand in how I turned out.

But it’s not just him, I thought of all the other people in my life that have influenced me and others that may have a huge stake in how I turn out. From my Sunday school teachers, to youth pastors, to school teachers, to church members, to clergy… the list goes on.

And I know that there are people that I invested in and have an interest on how they turn out and who they become.

Simply put, we’re never really alone on our journey.

So, if you can, take time today to reach out to someone who made a difference in your life and let them know how grateful you are to have them in your life.